Handicapped patients, such as those being unable to speak, have difficulty communicating their basic needs to others. In order to aid a handicapped person in communicating his or her basic needs, it has been proposed to utilize a series of pictures or illustrations representing basic needs which are joined together on a ring. By selecting the proper illustration, the patient can communicate to others. Devices of this type can be helpful for people with communication difficulties, multiple sclerosis or other neurological disorders, mental retardation, voice, hearing or visual difficulties, or post operative problems.
Another form of communication aid to be utilized by patients unable to verbally communicate and also unable to move their arms or head is a communication board, as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No 06/769,385, filed Aug. 26, 1985 now abandoned. In accordance with that device, a series of words or illustrations representing the needs of a patient are mounted on a transparent board around a center hole or opening. An operator, holding the board and looking through the opening can follow eye movement of the patient toward one of the illustrations on the board to thereby determine the need of the patient. In another form of the communication device, as disclosed in the aforementioned patent application, a light beam is mounted on the visor of a cap to be worn by the patient, and through head movement, the patient can direct the beam to an illustration on a board to represent the need.